tmux shortcuts & cheatsheet

tmux-cheatsheet.markdown

tmux shortcuts & cheatsheet

start new:

tmux

start new with session name:

tmux new -s myname

attach:

tmux a  #  (or at, or attach)

attach to named:

tmux a -t myname

list sessions:

tmux ls

kill session:

tmux kill-session -t myname

Kill all the tmux sessions:

tmux ls | grep : | cut -d. -f1 | awk '{print substr($1, 0, length($1)-1)}' | xargs kill

In tmux, hit the prefix ctrl+b (my modified prefix is ctrl+a) and then:

List all shortcuts

to see all the shortcuts keys in tmux simply use the bind-key ? in my case that would be CTRL-B ?

Sessions

:new<CR>  new session
s  list sessions
$  name session

Windows (tabs)

c  create window
w  list windows
n  next window
p  previous window
f  find window
,  name window
&  kill window

Panes (splits)

%  vertical split
"  horizontal split

o  swap panes
q  show pane numbers
x  kill pane
+  break pane into window (e.g. to select text by mouse to copy)
-  restore pane from window
⍽  space - toggle between layouts
<prefix> q (Show pane numbers, when the numbers show up type the key to goto that pane)
<prefix> { (Move the current pane left)
<prefix> } (Move the current pane right)
<prefix> z toggle pane zoom

Sync Panes

You can do this by switching to the appropriate window, typing your Tmux prefix (commonly Ctrl-B or Ctrl-A) and then a colon to bring up a Tmux command line, and typing:

:setw synchronize-panes

You can optionally add on or off to specify which state you want; otherwise the option is simply toggled. This option is specific to one window, so it won’t change the way your other sessions or windows operate. When you’re done, toggle it off again by repeating the command. tip source

Resizing Panes

You can also resize panes if you don’t like the layout defaults. I personally rarely need to do this, though it’s handy to know how. Here is the basic syntax to resize panes:

PREFIX : resize-pane -D (Resizes the current pane down)
PREFIX : resize-pane -U (Resizes the current pane upward)
PREFIX : resize-pane -L (Resizes the current pane left)
PREFIX : resize-pane -R (Resizes the current pane right)
PREFIX : resize-pane -D 20 (Resizes the current pane down by 20 cells)
PREFIX : resize-pane -U 20 (Resizes the current pane upward by 20 cells)
PREFIX : resize-pane -L 20 (Resizes the current pane left by 20 cells)
PREFIX : resize-pane -R 20 (Resizes the current pane right by 20 cells)
PREFIX : resize-pane -t 2 -L 20 (Resizes the pane with the id of 2 left by 20 cells)

Copy mode:

Pressing PREFIX [ places us in Copy mode. We can then use our movement keys to move our cursor around the screen. By default, the arrow keys work. we set our configuration file to use Vim keys for moving between windows and resizing panes so we wouldn’t have to take our hands off the home row. tmux has a vi mode for working with the buffer as well. To enable it, add this line to .tmux.conf:

setw -g mode-keys vi

With this option set, we can use h, j, k, and l to move around our buffer.

To get out of Copy mode, we just press the ENTER key. Moving around one character at a time isn’t very efficient. Since we enabled vi mode, we can also use some other visible shortcuts to move around the buffer.

For example, we can use "w" to jump to the next word and "b" to jump back one word. And we can use "f", followed by any character, to jump to that character on the same line, and "F" to jump backwards on the line.

   Function                vi             emacs
   Back to indentation     ^              M-m
   Clear selection         Escape         C-g
   Copy selection          Enter          M-w
   Cursor down             j              Down
   Cursor left             h              Left
   Cursor right            l              Right
   Cursor to bottom line   L
   Cursor to middle line   M              M-r
   Cursor to top line      H              M-R
   Cursor up               k              Up
   Delete entire line      d              C-u
   Delete to end of line   D              C-k
   End of line             $              C-e
   Goto line               :              g
   Half page down          C-d            M-Down
   Half page up            C-u            M-Up
   Next page               C-f            Page down
   Next word               w              M-f
   Paste buffer            p              C-y
   Previous page           C-b            Page up
   Previous word           b              M-b
   Quit mode               q              Escape
   Scroll down             C-Down or J    C-Down
   Scroll up               C-Up or K      C-Up
   Search again            n              n
   Search backward         ?              C-r
   Search forward          /              C-s
   Start of line           0              C-a
   Start selection         Space          C-Space
   Transpose chars                        C-t

Misc

d  detach
t  big clock
?  list shortcuts
:  prompt

Configurations Options:

# Mouse support - set to on if you want to use the mouse
* setw -g mode-mouse off
* set -g mouse-select-pane off
* set -g mouse-resize-pane off
* set -g mouse-select-window off

# Set the default terminal mode to 256color mode
set -g default-terminal "screen-256color"

# enable activity alerts
setw -g monitor-activity on
set -g visual-activity on

# Center the window list
set -g status-justify centre

# Maximize and restore a pane
unbind Up bind Up new-window -d -n tmp \; swap-pane -s tmp.1 \; select-window -t tmp
unbind Down
bind Down last-window \; swap-pane -s tmp.1 \; kill-window -t tmp

Resources:

• tmux: Productive Mouse-Free Development
• How to reorder windows

Notes:

Changelog:

• 1411143833002 - Added toggle zoom under Panes (splits) section.
• 1411143833002 - Added Sync Panes
• 1414276652677 - Added Kill all tmux sessions
• 1438585211173 - corrected create and add next and previus thanks to @justinjhendrick
• 1676001639197 - corrected a typo Thanks to @justinjhendrick

Request an Update:

We Noticed that our Cheatsheet is growing and people are coloberating to add new tips and tricks, so please tweet to me what would you like to add and let's make it better!

• Twitter: @MohammedAlaa

Great cheatsheet! I've been using tmux for a couple of years now and still find myself forgetting the exact syntax for pane management and session naming. The note about tmux new -s myname is especially useful—I used to just run tmux and end up with a dozen unnamed sessions, making tmux ls a mess to sort through. Naming sessions from the start has saved me a lot of confusion.

The synchronized panes feature (setw synchronize-panes) is one I keep rediscovering. It's a lifesaver when you need to run the same command across multiple servers, though I always forget to turn it off and accidentally issue commands everywhere. Has anyone found a good way to visually indicate that sync panes is active? I added a status bar indicator in my .tmux.conf but I'm curious what others do.

One thing I particularly appreciated was the copy mode section with setw -g mode-keys vi. Switching to vim keys made navigation so much more comfortable, especially since I spend most of my day in the terminal anyway.

By the way, I often use tmux panes to keep useful resources open while gaming—my terminal stays split between a note-taking app and a browser page with a walkthrough. Lately, when I'm working through Resident Evil Requiem, I've been keeping https://requiemguide.com open as a quick reference for puzzle solutions and boss strategies. Having it available in a dedicated tmux window alongside my other tools makes switching back and forth seamless. The parallel between managing terminal sessions and organizing gaming resources isn't something I thought about before, but both benefit from a clean workspace.

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This is hands-down one of the cleanest tmux references I've come across. The session management section alone—starting with tmux new -s myname, attaching via tmux a -t myname, and killing sessions with tmux kill-session -t myname—covers about 90% of what I actually use daily. I used to just run tmux and hope for the best, but naming sessions has completely changed how I organize my workflow.

The pane sync feature is something I didn't appreciate until recently. Your note about setw synchronize-panes being window-specific is crucial; I made the mistake once of toggling it globally across all windows and accidentally ran a destructive command on three servers at once. Now I treat it like a power tool and always toggle it back off the moment I'm done.

I also switched to setw -g mode-keys vi for copy mode, and I agree it's a game changer for keeping your hands on the home row. One thing I do differently is remap the prefix to Ctrl+A since I came from screen, just like your modified prefix note.

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